Saw this as a question thread on some other forum that I gave this answer to, thought it might be useful to some of you.

The # of geotagged photos is increasing rapidly and there are various tools that you can use to see locations before you actually go there. For example I use Google Earth with a Flickr script and (whatever the Google thing is called I forget) script, so as you whizz around on Google earth you can also see interesting pics taken on your view. Which can be vaguely useful for research.

This is centered on my house and shows me interesting pics of ruins near me. So when I'm in a ruins kind of mood I have a vague idea where to go to. To use this for yourself, search for a placename near you in the Flickr search, choose the right place, zoom out on the map control then use the "search the map" option to choose what you're after, ie ruin, mushroom, forest, whatever.

Glad you like it. It's far from perfect because it depends on people tagging up their photos properly, but for a free tool it isn't too shabby. The controls and filtration (by tag) is a little bit weird so you'll need play with it to learn how to use it properly. But, works for me

I do, however, always check flickr before going to a new city or country. This gives me a great sense of what some of the best shots from there look like, and an idea of what to expect in terms of everything from landscape and terrain to attractions and street fashions. If nothing else, it gives you great ideas for new shooting styles wherever you are.

I use the keyword search, and drill down based either on the name of the locality or specific attraction.